Because there was a great willingness to do something for the southwest of the Netherlands, the Red Cross decided to draw up a list of goods that could be put to good use in the disaster area. It contained usual items such as blankets, clothes, towels and a mattress. Already on February 4, the Red Cross had received so much of the above that the collection was temporarily stopped. After that, people who could coordinate the assistance were mainly called upon. For example, in the fields of social work and the care of the victims.
Several residents of different municipalities also collected. Dalen collected 18,925 guilders. Westerbork took it a step further with 41,466 guilders. In a letter to the King’s Commissioner, written on February 6, Westerbork reported that the donations were still trickling in. Zuidwolde even transferred 50,847.14 guilders to the National Disaster Fund. In March, fourteen single people and 51 families were accommodated in Drenthe. Most of them stayed in Hoogeveen.
The then municipality of Peize also wanted to show its good side. On a whim, she announced that she wanted to adopt the Zeeland municipality of Abbenbroek, but this was then met with various objections from both sides. The municipality of Wassenaar also offered help to the municipality. The mayor of Peize understood that Wassenaar, given the distance to Abbenbroek, was more obvious.
After all this help in the first weeks after the disaster, Zeeland was again assisted in the reconstruction some seven years later. In 1959, a village house was built at the expense of the province of Drenthe in Geersdijk, a village with about 300 inhabitants in the municipality of Noord-Beverland. This building was opened in 1960 and was named ‘Drenthehuis’. The location is used for birthdays, engagements, weddings and meetings, among other things.
In this way, Drenthe’s help to the disaster area remains visible every day.
In the video below, Omroep Zeeland pays a visit to the Drenthehuis in Geersdijk: